The 2012 Olympics are finally about to get underway this week, with the opening ceremony taking place at the Olympic Park at 9pm (British time) on Friday!

If you're visiting London for the first time over the next few weeks to take it all in, finding your way around can be quite daunting. Fortunately, there are a number of apps which you can download to help you get from A to B, whether you want to use the tube, get around on a bus or cycle your way through the city.

Tube Map

However you move around London during the Olympics it's going to be extremely busy, but for most journeys the tube might be the best way to go. If you've never used it before, or you're unfamiliar with the routes available, you should download the Tube Map app.

Available for free with ads, or without ads for 69p, Tube Map will be able to provide you with a route for any journey on the Underground. Simply give it a starting and final destination and you can choose from the routes which you can take. You'll also get an overview of the service on each line, so you can see if there are any disruptions at your station before you walk there.

If you have an Oyster card, Tube Map will also let you check your balance so you know if you have to top it up anytime soon.

If you try out Tube Map and don't like it, you can also give the 'London Underground' app a go. It provides a similar set of features to Tube Map, but may work better on certain devices.

London Bus Checker

There will be a lot of buses running through London during the Olympics to help spectators get to their events. If you intend to take the bus yourself, you should definitely use the London Bus Checker app.

Using GPS, you'll be able to locate the nearest bus stop to your current location, and all the bus times from that stop will be available right from your phone so you know when the next bus is due to arrive.You can filter bus times by the service that you want by tapping the number of the bus on the screen.

If you aren't familiar with a route that you need to travel, you can view exactly where your bus will pass through and where it stops en route. Maps integration here is really nice, with the route plan overlaid on a map of the city.

Bus Checker will cost you £1.99 - a nationwide app is available for slightly more - but it's definitely worth it if you're looking to travel around London using bus services; you won't find a better app than this.

Barclays Bikes

London is one of the most bike-friendly locations in the UK with dedicated bicycle lanes covering main routes around the city, although if you're unfamiliar with the roads, it can be a slightly terrifying experience.

For those looking for an alternative to catching the tube or the bus, you can hire a bike from certain docking points throughout the city. You can ride for free for up to half an hour. After that, the cost is scaled depending on how long you keep it for; two and a half hours of cycling will put you back a tenner.

The app itself uses GPS to locate the nearest docking station to your current position, from which you can either pick up or drop off a bike. You can tell the app how you want to ride (speedy, steady or quiet) and then begin to cycle from one point to another.

As the charge for using a bike goes up pretty fast depending on how long you use it for, the app has a built in timer that reminds you when your 30 minutes of free cycling is up.

London City Guide

Well there's no point getting around if you haven't got anything to see now, is there? The London City Guide app from TripAdvisor will point you in the direction of the best restaurants and attractions that the city has to offer.

It's GPS based, so you can seek out suggestions close to your current location, or search for places the old fashioned way if you don't mind a little bit of travelling to get there. The best part is that the app is completely free, so download it and check it out!

Yes, they require a data connection, but O2 is providing free wi-fi in the most popular parts of London, so tourists shouldn't have to lean on their 3G too much. Or you can get a pay-as-you-go SIM and browse for cheap.

mesmorino

I would add Journey Pro to this list, hands down the best bus and tube app I ever used

DavyPaul

Don't forget that the football ("soccer") kicked off (haar haar) in Cardiff today, 2 5th Jul. Only 2:15 from London Paddington by I C 1 2 5. thetrainline.com for times & fares. The mobile version of the t f l site is also very useful. http://m.tfl.gov.uk/mt/www.tfl.gov.uk and Virgin Media is providing wifi underground and O2 providing it overground.

Howard Z

yeah londonunderground app !!!

DoJo

There's also London River Bus (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.andordev.riverbusfull&hl=en) if you are planning to take the Thames Clippers boats to the Games (which you may consider, they're fast and have discounts for ticket holders).
It's a very simple app that will automatically find the closest pier to you and tell you when the next boat will arrive in either direction. It uses an internet connection for showing the official Thames Clippers twitter feed (which indicates delays etc.), but if you want to use without internet, everything except the twitter feed will work as expected.

Zolang

Google Maps/Navigation is great if you travel by public transportation! Makes tubemap and buschecker unnecessary imo.